kgpcr,
I guess you haven't been keeping abreast of the terrible things that have been happening across the country--much doesn't make the news though.
Home invasions are up and a grandmother in my area recently shot an intruder that was breaking in her kitchen door while her two young grandchildren were screaming behind her.
My cousins wife was kidnapped out of their home and rapped--she'll never be the same.
A neighbor not 200 yards from me was beaten and robbed in his living room.
Two days ago we had a elderly couple that was delivering "meals on wheels" shot---the woman died and the husband is in critical condition in the hospital as I type this---the person that they were delivering the meal to was shot and killed also.
I could go on and NO, I DON'T LIVE IN A WAR ZONE --I live in a city that was deemed one of the most livable nicest cities in the USA.
It has nothing to do with being paranoid---no more paranoid than people who carry in their homes or have bathroom guns.
Society is not going to get any better and if by making a few design choices you can make your home safer and less inviting to the bad guys why not??
My home will not look like a bunker--it will look just like many brick homes with smaller windows that were built in the 50s--just like the one I grew up in.
Don't kid yourself, the good old USA has changed alot in the last 10 years and not for the good.
Whether you know it or not, home invasions are UP---although I am no longer in law enforcement, many of my friends still are and I talk with them often.